YULIN festival protesters are hoping the spirit of Star Wars legend Carrie Fisher will provide a driving force to end the carnage. The Hollywood great, who died shortly after protesting on the streets of London against China’s reviled dog eating traditions, has become an inspirational figure for animal welfare crusaders.

Two years ago, Ms Fisher and her beloved French bulldog Gary stood outside the Chinese embassy in London to hand in a petition signed by more than 11 million to highlight the global enmity of the annual summer slaughter of cats and dogs.

Holding a “Stop Yulin” placard, Ms Fisher joined supporters of Humane Society International and declared: “There is so much animal suffering in the world, and much of it you feel helpless to end, but stopping the Yulin dog meat festival and ending all that suffering is easy.

“All the Chinese authorities need to do is declare it shut down, and the killing stops.

“These poor dogs need us to fight for them. Every single one of them is as precious as my dear Gary, every one of them is someone's best friend.”

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Today sees Humane Society launching its 2018 petition against the Yulin festival with Chinese partners, VShine and Capital Animal Welfare Association, and a call on the authorities to ban next month’s festival.

The campaigners want Yulin officials to set up road blocks to stop illegal dog trucks entering the city while threatening heavy fines for traders as well as providing care for confiscated dogs.

For details, see: www.hsi.org/endyulin

As the petition was being launched, a HSI executive described how the star immortalised by playing Princess Leia in the Star Wars epic had been committed to bringing an end to the evils of Yulin.

Wendy Higgins, HSI director of international media, said: “Carrie Fisher was so generous with her time on that day, spending more than an hour with us talking about the campaign and helping us raise awareness, with Gary by her side.

“She told me that she couldn’t measure how much Gary meant to her, and the very idea of losing him to the dog meat trade was too painful to imagine, but that was exactly what so many dog lovers in China are going through when their beloved companions are stolen by the dog thieves.

“The Chinese Embassy in London refused to open its doors to accept our petition that day, but I reassured Carrie that a few days later our HSI team would be in Beijing to hand deliver the petition to the Yulin authorities. ‘Oh good,’ she said, ‘You give ‘em hell.’

Tragically, Ms Fisher died six months later after being taken ill during a flight from London to Los Angeles.

Ms Higgins said: “We were so honoured and thrilled to have her join us that day.

“She was a huge star, and she had a million other places she could have been, but she chose to spend her time with us raising awareness about the horror of China's dog meat trade.

“The generosity of that choice was felt by all of us. She loved animals, especially dogs, and abhorred cruelty, and we are honoured to have been able to call Carrie Fisher a friend.

“It would be such a fitting tribute for her legacy as an animal lover for the brutal Yulin dog meat festival to finally end. I hope we can realise that dream for her.”